Just Another Day
by b9je
Summary: When Hotch is dealing with a day that he dreads, what surprising revelations will come up? Oneshot. JJ/Hotch.


**_Hey there. This little one shot was thought of while I was blatantly ignoring my other stories. Sometimes its fun to write something else. I still don't own Criminal Minds. _**

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As Hotch woke up on the ninth of March, he tried to remind himself that it was just another day. What did it matter that it used to be his anniversary, anniversaries only mattered if the couple stayed together. Now the only days that mattered were the days that his marriage began to end: September 18, the day that Hailey left, November 28, the day Hailey filed for divorce, December 1, the day he got his divorce papers, February 12, the day he was practically coerced into signing the wretched documents, and May 27, the day his marriage officially ended. It wasn't fun or helpful to remember these dates, it was vital. Because those, like today, are to everyone else, just one more box on the calendar. He needed to remember that they too would end, just like the happiest days of his marriage.

He got up in a manic state--running three miles easily, reading the paper, getting even further ahead in his paperwork. While most people shuffled along in days of ill-remembrance, Hotch was the opposite. He was the epitome of productivity--even more so when he had to distract himself from unpleasant memories. There was no reason why anyone else on the team would remember what March 9th stood for, acting like nothing was different would be his best bet. He just had to act like this day did not signify the most important day in his life--save the day his son was born. Not that it was the most important day anymore--all of his dreams that were brought by that day shattered when the divorce was final. He just had to act like today was just another day.

As he got in his car, he checked the time. He was, as always, running early. He'd arrive to work at his usual time, an hour and a half before the rest of the team would shuffle in begrudgingly. If there was any upside to being an emotionless workaholic it was this, that Hotch could trust that no one from his team would pick up on how he was feeling. The profilers he worked with often forgot that while he didn't show his feelings, he still had them. The only threat to his secret was Rossi, and if he played his cards right, not even the founding father of the BAU would pick up on his current feelings of anger.

Those were his feelings these days--anger. When Hailey first left, he had grieved beyond all comprehension. He'd been sad--mournful even. He had been sure that no person would ever understand the failure he felt. He was mad, mad at Hailey for throwing away their marriage. Mad that she snuck around, sleeping with other men and then complaining that he had no time for her--even accusing him of infidelity. He was enraged at how she took his son away from him, poisoning Jack's young mind against his father. But most of all, he was angry at himself. Angry that he let Hailey go, that he decided a job was more important than his family. Angry that he hadn't been enough to fulfill his beloved wife's needs. But when those feelings subsided, and then all that was left was the pit that Hailey walked away from. For a while he had been stuck in a level of nothingness. Like Hailey took his heart with her when she took away their marriage. the only thing he felt he had left of him was the job; the beloved job that had taken everything else he had ever valued away from him. He still cared for Hailey, though he now knew that he could never be with her again.

As he walked into the BAU headquarters, he purposely dodging the office of a certain media liaison. While JJ had never actually told the team that she and Will were no more, it was written all over her. The way she avoided talking about anything not related to the case, the way that the cintrine ring that was kept on her right hand ring finger magically disappeared over night, the way that when Emily and Garcia began to gossip, she found a way to leave the room. That was something he and JJ had in common; while they tried to trust the team, they couldn't. It was good to know that one other person didn't invest their entire story to the small, eclectic family that the BAU had formed.

It wasn't that he didn't want to trust the team--he did. But there was a thin line that he couldn't cross; he couldn't allow himself to be more loyal to his team than the FBI. At the end of the day, it was his job to protect the innocent and follow the rules, he couldn't let some feelings of false connection cloud his judgement. JJ was the only other member of the team who seemed to understand that.

The day passed quickly, they always did when there wasn't a case. He did his job the best he could, he tried to remind himself that he spent half of the decade he was married to Hailey working on their anniversaries. The moment he signed those papers, March 9th was supposed to stop meaning something to him. Today was supposed to be just like any other day.

He stayed in his office for the eight brief hours he was at work, as much as he wanted to stay late and ignore what today reminded him of, he couldn't. The job broke up his marriage, he didn't really feel like commiserating the date with it. So he left at Six, when the rest of the team left, for the first time in months.

* * *

As a knock came to his door, he put down his scotch, ashamed of having turned to it. He wasn't normally the self-medicating type, but hitting the bottle once a year didn't make him a drunk. As he opened the front door, he was surprised to see the blonde woman at his doorstep.

"JJ?" Hotch muttered, not believing his eyes. Of all the days for JJ to need something.

"Can I come in?" She smiled, rubbing her hands to her arms. "Its kind of cold."

"Wha--Um. Sure." Hotch sputtered, opening the door wider so that she could walk into his house. This was one of the few times that he was glad that he was never home, his house was always clean because he wasn't there to mess it up. The living room could pass for sterile if he needed it to. "What can I do for you?"

"We are going to hang out." JJ nodded decisively.

"Why?"Hotch faked confusion.

"You know why." JJ glared. "Do you really think that after all the years we have worked together, I would forget what today was?" JJ shook her head.

"You seem to be the only one." Hotch mused.

"Oh please, like Reid could forget if he wanted to. Face it, we only gave you your space today to appease you." JJ tilted her head to the side.

"JJ--" Hotch tried to come up with an excuse.

"But I'm not Reid or Rossi or Emily or anyone else on this team. I'm not going to silently watch you hurt without doing something." JJ said stubbornly.

"Why are you doing this?" Hotch asked coldly, not showing how touched he was at the gesture.

"Because you're my friend." JJ explained, plopping herself down onto his couch.

"I--" Hotch stammered, not knowing how to explain the open scotch bottle.

"Its alright, when Will left, vodka was my drink of choice." JJ shrugged. "He just picked up and left one day. Didn't even warn me." She said, admitting the words that she hadn't told anyone.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, you and I are similar." JJ whispered. "We don't trust people easily. I can't expect you to tell me the truth unless I tell you." She reached over and poured her some liquid courage. She wasn't normally this demanding, only for Hotch would she do this.

The pair sat in silence for what felt like hours, not speaking, just drinking. To most, this silence would have been awkward and uncomfortable, but Hotch and JJ knew differently. This form of silence was speaking louder than any other words that they could have spoken. She was there, not to make him talk but for him to know that she was there for him--even if he didn't really want her to be.

JJ didn't feel like they weren't communicating, she listened to every breath, every shift, every moan. More importantly, she understood every sound. That was one reason she liked being around Hotch, they understood each other flawlessly.

After his fifth glass of scotch, Hotch finally started to talk. "She's engaged. We haven't been divorced a year, and she is already engaged."

"I'm so sorry." JJ whispered. She thought Hailey was a moron for leaving Hotch, but she was surprised at how excited she was to be Hotch's confidante. "If its any consolation, I think she made a mistake."

"She wanted someone who wasn't married to his job, you can't blame her." Hotch shrugged.

JJ nodded, she didn't agree with Hailey. In her opinion, nothing in this world was better than Hotch. "Yes you can."

Hotch smiled, as JJ rubbed his arm sympathetically, trying to ignore the electricity running up his spine. "JJ, why are you here?"

"Because I care." JJ responded quietly.

"That's not why you're here though. You care about Reid and Emily, but you didn't..." He trailed off. "Why?"

"You really don't know why." JJ mused cryptically. "And here I thought I was transparent."

"Your a mystery to me." Hotch responded. "But you didn't tell me why."

"If I do, it might be terribly awkward." She informed him.

"I think I can handle it."

"I was afraid you were going to say that." JJ laughed mirthlessly. "I--uh--Well, I--Ermm. If I could just find the words." JJ was beginning to blush, not believing what she was really about to say.

"JJ, you can tell me." Hotch offered, nothing JJ would ever tell him would make him love her less, not that he didn't want to. It was bitter that the first woman he noticed since Hailey had been spoken for. When JJ had broken up with Will, he had tried to keep his excitement down, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want to have feelings for JJ, but they came naturally. But none of that mattered today, the day that proved that he was in fact, incapable of a retaining love.

JJ nodded and took in a deep breath. "I--uh." She began, but decided it might be better to show him instead. She drew closer, shortening the gap between them and tilted her head, planting on him the lightest kiss. She pulled away and began to blush furiously. "I really hadn't intended on doing that. I'm the worst friend in history. You already are having a confusing day..."

Hotch cut her off, kissing her back. At first JJ was surprised, but soon began to welcome the romantic gesture by putting her effort into it. She really hadn't meant for this to happen. When the pair finally broke apart, JJ smiled. "I really hadn't planned on that when I came over here. I swear."

"I know." Hotch laughed. "But I'm glad it happened anyway."

"Me too." JJ admitted. "I've wanted to do that for a while." She snuggled in closer, letting him wrap his arms around her. It felt better than he had imagined. March 9th would never be just another day, but maybe JJ could make it stand for something else. Maybe the divorce was for the best after all.

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**_Alright, I promise I will update my other stories sometime soon--it was just nice to have a distraction. Let me know what you thought. _**


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